Even though everyone is accustomed to constant changes with California or Federal employment laws and related items, we like to inform or remind you of any important changes. The forms, in particular, have a drop-dead implementation date so don’t delay in using them.
Arbitration Agreement Update
So often California adds another weight to your administrative burden. But, for once, the Feds have saved us! California’s AB51 had been passed, prohibiting us from requiring employees to sign an arbitration agreement as a condition of employment. Right after that, a judge put a temporary restraining order on the law because the federal government strongly disagrees with that prohibition. Finally, a US District Court has ruled that AB51 is invalid. This means you can continue to require employees to sign your arbitration agreement if they want to work with your company.
California attorneys are very much in favor of using arbitration agreements because they help avoid class-action lawsuits. Those lawsuits are hitting smaller and smaller companies so it’s good to have protection. Please ask if you need a referral to an employment law attorney to create an agreement for you.
New I-9 Form
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services have finally issued both a new I-9 Form and I-9 Instructions. You must use this form after 1/1/2020. You can get a copy at www.https://www.uscis.gov/i-9 and we recommend using the paper version. Their regular “fill in the blanks” form seems to cause problems at times so we prefer the version without the technology addition.
2020 W-4 Form
We want to remind everyone that you absolutely must use the new 2020 version of the W-4 form for anyone hired or changing their W4 after 1/1/2020. You may still be able to see the previous version in your payroll system but that’s only for reference, not to be used for new or changed W4s.
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